Tuesday, 17 July 2012

On Wednesday, 4 July, a public meeting took place in the British Parliament’s Grand Committee room. Speaking on the panel of members of parliament were a Conservative former career soldier, a senior minister in two previous Labor governments, and a member of Labor Friends of Israel. What could they all possibly have had in common?

They had assembled to speak at a meeting about the reality of Palestinian life under Israeli occupation in the West Bank. This followed a trip they had participated in, organized by the Council for Advancing Arab-British Understanding.

Earlier that same day, during a Westminster Hall debate, the Foreign Office minister responsible for relations with the Middle East had — for the first time — strongly hinted that a ban on importing goods made in Israeli settlements could be on the way.

The events of that day were only the latest examples of how views critical of Israeli policy have entered the mainstream of UK politics. more

ENIN, (PIC)-- The village of Dhahr al Maleh, to the south of Jenin located behind the Apartheid Wall, has been living for ten days in total darkness after the disruption of the electrical generator, which supplies the energy to the village and which the occupation authorities refuse allowing repairing.

Hussein al Abd, a member in the Village of Dhahr al Maleh Council, confirmed in a press statement that the electric generator of the village had been disrupted and that due to the location of the village (behind the wall apartheid), the council was unable repair it because of the Zionist obstacles.

He noted that the village, which has a population of 300 people, has been using the electrical generator since 1995 and that it had received a new generator six months ago, that has stopped working ten days ago. He also pointed out to the increase of power consumption during the summer especially as the month of Ramadan is approaching. more

EL-ARISH, Egypt (Ma’an) -- Egyptian authorities have restricted the amount of Qatari fuel entering the Gaza Strip through an Egyptian crossing with Israel, an Egyptian source said Monday.

While the Al-Ouja crossing in Egypt's northern Sinai has the capacity for ten trucks of fuel per day, Egypt only permits six trucks to cross, the official said, noting that this amount cannot meet Gaza's energy needs.

The Egyptian source said an estimated four million liters of Qatari fuel have arrived in the Gaza Strip in recent weeks.

Gaza had been plagued by a fuel crisis since mid-February, when Egypt cut off supplies via a tunnel network under the border between the countries. more

Families of political prisoners held by the Hamas-led government in the Gaza Strip stated that their detained sons declared an open ended hunger strike demanding their release.

The families told the Palestine Press News Agency that the Military Prosecutors Office in Gaza has been delaying the cases of the political prisoners under different claims including the alleged absence of certain judges.

The families added that the military prosecutors’ office in Gaza cancelled all bails presented by the prisoners’ lawyers, and rejected dozens of bail applications.

The Palestine Press News Agency stated that a Fateh movement official in Gaza, revealed a few days ago, that there are 71 Fateh members currently imprisoned by Hamas, and demanded their immediate and safe release. more